


some men just want to watch the world burn

by yahootoldyou



Series: obikin halloween [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, F/M, M/M, Other, Sith Anakin, Sort Of, Threesome - F/M/M, a galaxy far far away with some earthly attributes and no force, darth vader: the baddest super villain bitch in the game, some non-earthly attributes in there too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-01-21 14:58:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12460161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yahootoldyou/pseuds/yahootoldyou
Summary: “Miss Amidala, there is nothing to report on your missing friends. I’m very sorry, but please trust that we will get back to you when there is news, you don’t need to keep coming here every night,” Deputy Windu says, trying to be kind, she knows, but coming across as very condescending.She knows she responds, but she doesn’t know what she says because her focus is taken by the file on his desk for a criminal namedDarth Vader.Why does that name look so familiar?OR: the superhero-ish fic that nobody asked for.





	1. only fools are heroes

**Author's Note:**

> so, as some of you may or may not remember, last fall i wrote a vampire fic for halloween and it was a lot of fun! earlier this year, Nightshade_sydneylover150 and I were throwing around ideas for another one this year and although i didn't end up using any of those ideas, I hope they're happy with how it turns out! 
> 
> happy early halloween !

_“Anakin, wait!”_ She calls as she bursts out onto the roof of her building, the ground flat, but her heart pounding so quickly she feels somewhat off balance. She chases after one of the men she loves, knowing he’s upset, but hoping against all odds that he’ll believe her. She can feel Obi-Wan on her heals and almost thinks she hears him sigh in exasperation, but she can’t be sure. 

Their lover has backed himself to the edge.

“ _No!_ I won’t hear another word!” He is shouting, making giant gestures with his hands and she wants to reach out and pull him away from the edge, but she fears she’ll just spook him off. 

She looks back at Obi-Wan, hoping for his help, but his face is stony and his posture stiff. She’s thrown for a moment. Anakin and Obi-Wan had been an item when they invited Padmé into their bed. They have been together for a while, much longer than she’s known them, but Obi-Wan is _fine?_ He’s not begging Anakin not to fall or get himself hurt?

Her attention is brought back to Anakin’s yelling. His feet have somehow gotten just to the edge and she feels her body wanting to act even if she still isn’t sure it’s the best idea. Anakin is still yelling, but she can’t hear what he’s saying anymore, just the harshness of the wind howling in her ears.

She throws herself toward him, hands around her waist instantly as Obi-Wan stops her from falling off the edge with Anakin, who collapses back, feet slipping from the rood. Later, she'll remember his face had been calm beneath the facade of fear. As a reporter, Padmé knows people well enough to determine his actions as strange.

She wrenches Obi-Wan’s arms off of her and scrambles to where she can see Anakin’s hands hanging to the edge. 

“Take my hand!” She reaches for him, the man holding on to the edge with a grip of stone, slipping just a bit every now and then. He looks at her in suspicion, as if he actually believes she wants him to fall. 

“Don’t be _dumb,”_ she whispers, impending horror making her heart feel heavy. 

“You _lied_ to me,” he spats in response, looking down into the levels of Coruscant before seemingly shrugging, letting go. 

_“Anakin!”_ Padmé calls to him as he falls. She looks back at the other man on the roof, Obi-Wan standing with wide eyes and _then-_

Then he’s running and jumping off the roof, falling after Anakin down into the depths below. She cries out, the shout quickly morphing into a sob, and allows herself to fall back, crying into her hands. 

 

 

 

 

“You didn’t need to do that,” Obi-Wan says, walking over to the bar and taking a seat next to Anakin. 

“She’s a reporter, its better she’s not involved with people like us,” Anakin says, shaking his head a bit and taking a large swig of his drink. They had known when they got involved with Padmé that it was going to be hard, but Obi-Wan had thought they would work on it. 

He thought they found Padmé _worth it._

“She’s kind and beautiful and we just, without a doubt, left her life in shambles,” Obi-Wan admonishes and Anakin scowls. Obi-Wan isn’t sure why Anakin always runs to bars, it’s not as if the alcohol can do anything for him. He figures it’s just a comfort from when they were normal. 

When they were truly _human._

“She knew too much! She was going to figure us out,” he snarls and Obi-Wan reaches out, taking Anakin’s hand within his own. 

“She cares for us, she would never do anything to put us in harms way,” he whispers and Anakin laughs, long and loud and as cruel as he can be. He takes Obi-Wan’s other hand, crushing it impossibly with the added strength of his metal arm, smiling so wide Obi-Wan feels like he can see hell just barely hiding behind the pearly whites of Anakin’s picture perfect smile.

“Ana-“

_“Stop,”_ says his husband of over eighty years, his too blue eyes boring into Obi-Wan’s own. Obi-Wan feels the edges of his mind start to burn with the intrusion, his husband still smiling at him. 

The truth is, after so long, Obi-Wan should’ve seen this coming. 

Perhaps allowing a human into their relationship was in fact a mistake… It had clearly thrown Anakin dangerously out of balance. Slowly, an inhuman laugh starts to bubble out of Anakin’s chest, the sound still as deranged and deformed as the last time Obi-Wan heard it over eighty years ago. 

_“Anakin?”_ He asks, moving closer and lightly patting his husband’s cheek with his palm, Anakin’s face stuck in it’s manic grin. The smile slowly slips into just the baring of teeth, the glass clenched so tightly in his husband’s hand, that Obi-Wan gently removes it from the stuck fingers. It wouldn’t do well to draw more attention to Anakin’s behavior by having it shatter. 

“Come on, Ani,” he says slowly, nearly having to shove his husband off of the bar stool and drag him out of the back exit into the alleyway. Obi-Wan backs Anakin up against the brick wall, eyes burning a bright emerald green as he examines his lover.

Anakin’s head is down now, but Obi-Wan can still see the grin etched in his features as Obi-Wan contemplates what to do to solve this. He strokes his beard for a moment, taking a step back from Anakin before deciding that he’s being silly. 

Anakin has held control over Vader for _so long…_

They had been sure the monster was gone forever. 

But _now…?_

No, it’s impossible. He looks away, unable to look at the electric blue in Anakin’s eyes. 

Suddenly a hand is cupping his chin.

“Anaki-“ He starts, turning back to face his husband, but he’s stopped, the hand moving to tightly wrap itself around Obi-Wan’s throat. A sick yellow gaze meets Obi-Wan’s and he can feel his heart slowing as he’s denied air. 

“Hello, Lover,” Vader greets, his grin becoming less manic and far more cruel. Vader releases him, Obi-Wan falling to the ground at the monster’s feet. His breathing is labored, his eyes full of tears as he looks up at the man he loves. 

Obi-Wan elects to stay silent, his eyes never backing down as he scrambles to his feet. 

“I have missed you,” Vader hums, tracing a lone finger along Obi-Wan’s jaw until he cups his cheek, bringing their lips together in a ferocious kiss. Obi-Wan struggles against the hold Vader puts him in, but his strength has always been feeble against Anakin’s. He eventually sags in the hold of his now changed lover, confident that Vader won’t hurt him. 

Not yet, anyway. 

“Unfortunately, My Dearest, you have not yet gone through the change and as such… I can’t really have you in my way. You understand, don’t you?” Vader asks spinning out of Obi-Wan’s range and then laughs low in his throat, “After all, you _always do.”_

Obi-Wan sees yellow…

_…and then he sees nothing at all._

 

 

 

 

Padmé sits at her desk, unable to focus for the life of her. It’s been three weeks since the odd… conjoined suicide her lovers committed on the roof of her building. 

She had waited hours, days even to hear the news of two bodies found at the bottom of the lower levels of Coruscant, but there had been no such news. 

Just the appearance of some masked monster who has been terrorizing the planet's civilians. 

Normally, something like this would have Padmé’s attention immediately, but these days…

She had reported both Obi-Wan and Anakin missing two weeks ago, but so far the police have nothing to tell her. Sighing, she grabs her coat and her bag, slipping her laptop inside before slinging it over her shoulder and heading for the elevator. 

"Have a good night, Ahsoka," she calls to her partner, a young woman just fresh out of college. Ahsoka's head shoots up from her seat at her desk and she sends Padmé a winning smile. 

"You too, Padmé!" Padmé smiles as she presses the elevator button, fiddling with her phone as she does so. 

She’ll check with the station again tonight, like she does every night, hoping one of these days Deputy Windu will have something new to tell her. She gets on, only one other man in the elevator with her as she does. She reaches over, pressing the button for the basement level where she’s parked her car. 

As she does, she notices that the man has not hit any floors to begin with. She looks at him out of the corner of her eye, alarmed to see that she can see none of his face, his hood pulled all the way up and thick sunglasses masking his identity. 

She tightens her grip on the bag, thinking of using the laptop to do some serious damage, even if it means losing her files on the device. The elevator reaches the basement level and she steps out, rushing towards her car. She looks back only once. 

The man is _gone._

She breathes out slowly, trying to slow her heart rate as she makes her way to her car at a much slower pace. 

She unlocks it and gets inside, turning on the engine and allowing herself to sit and calm down for a minute. Eventually, she backs out of the spot, switching on the radio as she does so. 

Kendrick Lamar’s Humble blasts from the speakers, giving her a confidence she probably doesn’t actually have and she manages to convince herself the encounter in the elevator was just an odd coincidence. 

She drives to the police station, parking out front and heading inside just before closing like she does every night. The florescent lighting hurts her eyes, but she ignores it, moving to the front desk and greeting Quinlan Vos, the worst police officer she’s ever met. 

The man was just _ridiculous._

“Well, good evening, Miss Amidala. What can Coruscant’s finest help you with tonight?” He asks, a cocky grin on his face as she rolls her eyes. 

“Just tell Mace I’m here, Quinlan,” she sighs and he laughs, standing and going back towards the offices. Moments later, he emerges again, the amused expression gone. 

“The boss said to just head back, they’re dealing with something at the moment,” he says apologetically, and Padmé feels annoyed with the police force for a moment before brushing past Officer Vos and heading back towards where she will undoubtedly find Mace and Cheif Yoda. 

She approaches the desk where Windu and Yoda are hunching over paperwork, scowls seemingly permanently etched in their faces. Windu looks up and he looks annoyed too before he masks his features with his usual look of indifference. 

“Miss Amidala, there is nothing to report on your missing friends. I’m very sorry, but please trust that we will get back to you when there is news, you don’t need to keep coming here every night,” he says, trying to be kind she knows, but coming across as very condescending. 

She knows she responds, but she doesn’t know what she says because her focus is taken by the file on his desk for a criminal named _Darth Vader._

_Why does that name look so familiar?_

She suddenly remembers the man in the elevator, the man in the mask her station has been obsessing over, and she feels sick. 

Coruscant has never felt less safe. 

Eventually, she gets back to her apartment, sticking the key in the door and unlocking it, each movement feeling robotic as she tries to process what exactly is going through her head. She realizes she doesn’t remember the ride home, everything being unable to process fully in her mind as it struggles to put the pieces together of a puzzle she didn’t know existed until moments ago. 

_Who is the man on the elevator?_

_Who is Darth Vader?_

_Where are Obi-Wan and Anakin?_

_Are they even still_ alive?

She enters the apartment, setting her bag on the couch and going into the kitchen for a glass of water. 

She’s sipping at it lightly when strong arms wrap around her, keeping her in place. The glass crashes to the ground, shards and cold water exploding outwards, painting her cabinets. She shoves backwards into her aggressor, trying to remember everything they taught her in self defense class. 

She has pepper spray in her bag on the couch, but there are knives behind them on the counter if she can get out of his grip and move fast enough-

“Padmé, shh… It’s just me, you’re all right,” she hears and slumps against him, nearly sobbing in relief. She can feel him chuckle against her neck as she whirls around, suddenly realizing just who exactly is behind her. 

_“Obi-Wan?”_


	2. this city is afraid of me, for i have seen it’s true face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> boom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all times in the present take place in this storyline, but they are not all in order and switch povs. it should still be fairly easy to follow. thank you for reading!

**Before**

 

“Anakin, can you grab the meat out of the oven?” She asks, fussing over the corn that is currently overflowing onto the stovetop. 

“I got you,” he says, sweeping by her gracefully, plopping a quick slobbery kiss on her cheek. She makes an annoyed face, her nose scrunching up as she wipes it off. She huffs, going to mash the potatoes. Tonight, her parents will meet her boyfriends for the first time and she’s terrified. Polygamous relationships aren’t… normal. She wouldn’t trade hers for anything, but she almost desperately wants her parents to approve. Obi-Wan walks in, all smiles as he bends, licking some potato off of her cheek that had sprung upwards during her mashing. 

She giggles, “You two have to stop getting spit on my face. It’s gross.” Obi-Wan laughs, nudging her out of the way and taking her place at the pan with the potatoes in it. She smiles gratefully, knowing the process will be much faster with his strength. 

“Ani, how’s the meat looking?” 

“Great, Pads, you know how to cook and regardless, it’s your parents. They’ll appreciate the effort,” he reassures, coming over to massage her shoulders a bit. She smiles gratefully, taking her turn to kiss him. She goes for the lips, making the kiss chaste and laughing when he leans in for more. Obi-Wan grunts, a pout on his face and he looks so utterly ridiculous that she leans over to kiss him as well. 

They have an hour until her parents show up and she figures they only really need thirty of them to set the table. She grabs the lid, turning the burners to warm and the oven off before sticking the meat in to keep warm.

Obi-Wan is already smiling at her like she’s the meal and she takes both of their hands, dragging them off to her bedroom. 

 

**Present**

 

Padmé wakes up with a gasp, her eyes not registering the light at first. She lifts her head, a paper stuck to her face and her partner is looking at her worriedly. 

“Go home, Padmé. Get some sleep.” After Anakin and Obi-Wan’s disappearance, sleeping in her bed has been hard. She smiles at Ahsoka who smiles back, easing away some of the embarrassment that no doubt pinks her cheeks at the moment.

The memory had been so sweet, so lovely… She wishes to return to sleep so she can continue her life as it had been. Uncomplicated and in love. 

She gathers her stuff and heads out, one thought on her mind.

_Obi-Wan, Anakin… Where are you?_

 

 

 

Vader sits in his office, a warehouse he has recently acquired becoming his headquarters. Next to him, still unconscious on the couch by the wall is the love of his existence. 

He is Obi-Wan for now, but Vader knows what lurks beneath the surface. Kenobi is just a thing in the way of his goal. 

Inside of him, Anakin screams, wanting to break free and save the man on the couch. 

_He will be mine again soon, Skywalker. You weak wretch of a man._

_No! Obi-Wan will never give into you! He is good!_

Vader chuckles at Anakin’s insistence, knowing that when Obi-Wan switches off his humanity like Vader has he will be just as evil. If not more.

When they had been human, they had been like brothers, close as can be as they fought in the Galactic Revolution. It had been… Brutal and hard. The man who had found them, cursed them, had stolen their souls when he did. 

Ignis had hunted him with a ferocity Vader was starving for, wanting revenge on the man who had dragged them away from their families. Obi-Wan and Anakin had been swallowed by Ignis and Vader, becoming monsters in their own right even as they took vengeance on their enemies. They were heroes of the revolution before they faded into history, immortal and hungry for violence and pain. 

But when he had finally found the man who cursed them, killing him had released their souls, turning them into the weak creatures they had been while they were human. 

The vile creature had stolen Anakin and Obi-Wan, created Vader and Ignis, and then stuck them with souls in death, dooming them to guilt and pain. 

_It isn’t like that_ , Anakin insists, but Vader snarls, shutting him back away. Anakin wants to plead, knowing if Ignis is to return it could be a hundred years before they’re able to regain control again. 

_This is our time now, Ani,_ he sneers the thought of a pretty woman with brown hair and caring eyes in his mind. She is... No.

_You love her too,_ the thought accusatory towards his literal other half. Anakin shrivels in shame inside of him. 

Obi-Wan loves her too, the man defends and Vader rolls his eyes. 

_She isn’t like us, I will kill her for your mistake, you fool,_ Vader clarifies and Anakin thrashes against his bonds, angry but unable to do anything. 

_It sucks doesn’t it?_ Vader taunts enjoying the pain he can feel coming from Anakin. It’s about damn time Anakin was the one who felt the agony of being trapped inside of himself. 

Vader moves to the large window, enjoying the sights of the city below. He had never seen a city for himself, Anakin getting to enjoy all of the galaxy’s technological advancements. He smiles, happy he’s shut up his other half for the moment. 

Speeders race by and civilians sit on balconies in nearby buildings, Vader taking in the sights.

He hears a rustle and turns, unsurprised to find the couch empty, but angry all the same. His teeth clench and the room shakes with his anger. 

_Oh, Obi-Wan, you can’t hide from me for long._

 

 

 

_Get up!_

Obi-Wan hears the resonating thought shouted from the love of his life along their bond, the noise startling him out of his slumber. He’s careful to not move, knowing he needs to run as soon as he’s up or Vader will catch him. The man is standing in front of the window, a dark silhouette against the fading light of day. 

He knows if he looks into his eyes they will be a sick yellow instead of the blue he loves so much and he knows Vader will hurt him to keep him here. He wont kill him, but he will do what he feels is necessary to set Ignis free. 

Obi-Wan nearly shivers at the thought of his other half, the man truly worthy of inspiring fear. Obi-Wan had always been calmer than Anakin, more in control, more careful and thoughtful of his actions. Unfortunately, that applies to their other halves as well. 

Ignis is a monster and he’s a smart monster, hard to capture, and even harder to keep locked away. 

He can sense Vader’s distraction and runs, his extra speed allowing him to flee before the man even turns to see his exit. He needs to go somewhere safe, he needs to leave. 

He spends weeks on the lower levels, living in a motel, trying to figure out how to save Anakin. He can't go to their home, Vader would find him and he can't go to Padmé because she thinks him dead. The weeks are silent on the other end of their bond, Vader effectively keeping Anakin quiet until-

_Go to Padmé, he wants to hurt her_ , Anakin’s voice pleads in his head and he nods, knowing Anakin can’t see him. 

_I will save you, my love,_ he promises and receives no response. Vader probably shielded his mind, effectively closing their bond. Obi-Wan huffs, but keeps running, needing to get to Padmé as soon as possible. 

He soon finds himself hauling his way through her open window, landing beside a bed he has spent so many nights in. The lights in her apartment are off so he knows she isn’t home and he finds a good place to hide, knowing he can catch anyone who comes in the door unaware. 

He just hopes she’s alone. Having to see Vader would be painful. Having to fight him would be worse. 

A headline in the paper sitting on her coffee table catches his attention. It reads: **New Villain on the Loose! Where Are Our Favorite Heroes?**

He feels sadness in his soul. He had been so busy thinking about how to save Anakin, he let Vader wreak havoc on the unsuspecting city they inhabit. 

The door nob jiggles, calling his attention back to the present and he poises for attack. He jumps forward on the person walking in, knowing immediately who is in his arms after months of having her there. She struggles, but he shushes her, hoping she’ll calm down enough that he can explain. 

“Shh, Padmé, shh… It’s just me, you’re all right,” he assures and she slumps in his hold, her breathing harsh. 

_“Obi-Wan?”_ She demands, spinning towards him. He shrugs sheepishly, not knowing how to apologize. 

Her eyes soften at the familiar action, but her eyes are still hard, 

“Where have you been? And where’s Anakin?” 

“Padmé, I want to be honest with you, but you need to sit and you need to listen to me before you say anything, okay? This isn’t something we’ve ever shared before,” he explains and she nods slowly, her mind trying to piece together an impossible puzzle. 

“What the fuck are you? There’s no way you could’ve survived that fall!” She snarls and he leads her to the couch, slowly making her sit before taking a seat in the chair across from her. The coffee table acts as a barrier between them. 

“They call us Jedi. Beings connected to an energy beyond what mortals can touch. We’re stronger and faster, we can move things with our mind and control minds if they’re suggestible, and we don’t die,” he spits out, knowing she needs to hear it all at once. Her jaw drops open and her eyes bulge. They sit in silence for a few moments until she starts breathing again. 

She looks at the paper on the table. 

“And this?” She asks, immediately identifying Obi-Wan and Anakin as the heroes in her storyline. He knows she's smart, she's the most cunning reporter around. She had almost guessed before their apparent suicide, something she is sure prompted their disappearance in the first place. 

He winces, catching her attention again. 

“That’s… Well, his name is Vader, but he is _technically_ Anakin,” he says and she does a double take, looking down at the picture of the masked villain. 

“…Vader?” She stutters a bit, “What is going on? What _the fuck_ is going on?” She says, placing her hands at her temples. Obi-Wan reaches across, placing his hand on her knee. She rips her leg away.

“I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you-“

_“Get out,”_ she demands, a hard look in her eyes. 

“ _What?_ No! No, Padmé, you don’t understand-“

“Leave, Obi-Wan. You both lied to me and placed me in danger. You should’ve been honest and given me a choice about being involved with you. Leave. Don’t come back until I tell you I want you here.” She stands and goes into her room, slamming the door behind her, leaving Obi-Wan in the darkness. The moon casts a shadow in the room from the other buildings and he groans, standing and sweeping out of the apartment. 

He will keep her safe and in time she will forgive them.

For now, he has another lover to save.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so !!!! not done by or on or for halloween but i will finish it! let me know what you think!


	3. freedom is life’s great lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> obi-wan saves padmé and vader is extra evil

Vader watches Obi-Wan leave Padmé’s apartment with feelings of jealousy and fond mockery. He wants to announce himself, wants Obi-Wan to know he lead Vader to his prize. Inside of the woman’s apartment, he can hear the soft heartbeats and breaths that hitch as she sobs, no doubt having learned about Obi-Wan and Anakin’s true identities. 

_Jedi._

_How utterly repulsive._

The goodness in them had lead them to join with others like them, serving the universe, trying to maintain peace and unity. 

But Vader?

All Vader yearns for is chaos. 

Obi-Wan sits on Padmé’s windowsill for a moment and Vader jumps from his position, landing smoothly on Padmé’s roof. The woman has no idea that Anakin is coming for her. Well, not Anakin, but someone who looks just like him. He’s safely locked Anakin away for now, the man endlessly screaming against the shields that are tightly in place. 

Obi-Wan looks beautiful, light seemingly radiating from his very being. Vader can admit it to himself, even as much as he want’s his version of the man back, he has a large weakness for Obi-Wan Kenobi. He has the face of Vader’s one true love and the soul of an archangel; righteous and strong. A Jedi through and through. 

He is admirable, unlike the whiny man-child that has trapped Vader all these years. 

The man’s hair blows beautifully in the wind as Vader watches him jump from Padmé’s windowsill into the depths of the city below, coat billowing around him. 

Smiling, Vader scales down the side of the building, speed too fast for human eyes and launching through the window Obi-Wan just exited from. Padmé’s door is closed, but she must hear his entrance because seconds later the woman is in the doorway of her bedroom, eyes red and puffy and clothes disheveled. 

He must admit, she is very beautiful. Her face is stunning and her body supple, but he sees the same aura around her that radiates from Obi-Wan. One of goodness and light, the aura of a person who strives to do the right thing even when they benefit nothing from it. She is someone Anakin and Obi-Wan would love, he can see why they let her in. 

Afterall, Vader and Ignis had been dormant for almost a hundred years, why shouldn’t they expand their relationship? 

_Fools._

_“Anakin?”_ She gasps, surprise coming over her features and Vader forces himself to smile kindly, taking steps towards her and cupping her face in his hands. 

“Hello, Padmé,” he leans down, placing a soft kiss on her lips that has her thrashing in his hold. Her eyes are angry, her posture stiff. 

“Obi-Wan has told me terrible things,” she says, putting space between them. Vader almost wants to sneer. It is clear she thinks he won’t hurt her because Anakin cared for her. 

_Oh, Honey, that’s not how I work. I would kill Obi-Wan too if he wasn’t a vessel for my love._

“Obi-Wan wants to turn you against me,” he begins, knowing this will be easier if he can somehow paint Obi-Wan as the villain, “He wants to use you, Padmé. The masked villain is him, his alter-ego Ignis has returned. I tried to save you, to leave before he would find you, but it wasn’t soon enough.” He closes the distance between them, hands once again on her face and he drags her in for a kiss, fiery and forceful. 

She knocks him away with a punch to his jaw and then his gut, landing a swift kick between his legs for good measure. He groans, falling to his knees and she takes off for the front door, fleeing the scene. 

Vader snarls, using the force to stop her in her tracks. He stands, his yellow eyes glaring down on her with a hate she finds unrecognizable. 

_This isn’t Anakin_ , she thinks, wanting desperately to run, to move, but finding herself unable to. He laughs from behind her, standing and his shadow casts over her, looming and dooming. 

“Oh, you certainly are feisty, aren’t you? I can see why they chose you,” he says stroking a hand down her cheek and smiling cruelly. 

“You mean why _you_ chose me, Anakin?” She bites out, venom on her tongue and the man in front of her laughs. 

“You should’ve let Obi-Wan explain, Dear. I am not him and he is not me,” Vader says, teeth sharp and eyes gold as he looks around her apartment.

“How-“

“I’m not really one for idle chatter, Padmé. If you wanted answers, you should have allowed your dearest Obi to stay and explain. I won’t now just because you were childish earlier,” he says nonchalantly and she’s sure this isn’t Anakin now. Absolutely sure. She snaps her mouth closed, choosing her next words carefully. She’s almost certain she’s in danger with Vader in the room. 

“So then why are you here, Vader?” She asks and sees surprise flitter across his face before he reigns it in. He may not be the same exactly, but he’s similar enough to Anakin that she can figure out ways to get under his skin. 

“Because I need to catch Obi-Wan, but if I gamble with him using you, he’ll stay with me willingly so I won’t hurt you,” he says shrugging and she sucks in a quick breath. She isn’t sure why, but she gets the feeling that Vader having Obi-Wan under his thumb is the worst thing that could happen. 

_Are you willing to die to keep people safe?_ She remembers her father asking when she brought up possibly wanting to join the army at age eighteen. _Yes_ , she had said with absolute certainty. 

The answer was still the same. 

She won’t let Vader have Obi-Wan.

This is her home and she knows it well, but the force is still holding her still and she has no sense of- _wait!_

There is a table next to her and a lamp on it. She tests her theory and finds it true. In his laziness, Vader had only frozen her limbs and not her whole body. Her hips wiggle a bit and she then shoves them out, crashing into the table and breaking his temporary hold on her. 

She hears him hiss, hears the hissed, _“Crafty woman,”_ but she’s on her feet, ignoring the blood trickling from various cuts on her body, grabbing a shard of glass from the lamp and stabbing Vader in the thigh when he approaches. 

He yelps, falling backwards, but she’s on him, another shard in her hand that goes in his gut before clambering to her feet and making a run for the door. The longer she’s around Vader the more in danger her life is. 

She feels her throat constrict and is lifted from the ground, her feet dangling. Her arms fling to her throat and she gasps blindly, vision going blurry when suddenly she’s falling to a heap on the ground, huffing for air that has been stolen from her. 

In front of her, her savior, is Obi-Wan Kenobi himself. 

Vader has been thrown into her wall, the man standing up from the pile of broken picture frames as he raises a hand, but Obi-Wan just moves his arm and suddenly Vader is flung into another wall, grunting as he is. Padmé’s head clears enough to know that they have to leave.

“No! Obi-Wan he wants you, you have to leave-“ Her throat constricts again and she rolls her eyes even though she’s in immense pain. 

_“Be quiet,”_ Vader hisses and the room has dropped in temperature, everything seeming colder as the Sith stands again, choking her with one hand while he tosses Obi-Wan aside with the other. 

“Obi-Wan, you’re a fool if you think you can defeat me,” Vader laughs and she looks at Obi-Wan who ducks his head in shame. Padmé knows they can’t win this, but she’s willing to do whatever she can so that Obi-Wan can get away. She looks at Obi-Wan desperately hoping he gets her message to run as she slumps in the choke hold, forcing her body to relax and reaching the lamp on the table she didn’t fall on and picking it up, hurling it with her fingers.

_I hope Sola doesn’t mind redecorating. Again._

Vader drops her and she flings herself at him, but he catches her, planting her back against his chest and wrapping his forearm around her neck. 

_I am quite sick of getting choked_ , she thinks and then almost wants to laugh because what a ridiculous thought. Obi-Wan though, has apparently not done what she hoped as he falls to his knees in front of them. 

“Obi-Wan, _no!_ ” She rasps, but Vader tightens his hold on her. 

“Yes,” he purrs, grinning down at Obi-Wan savagely, “you always did look good on your knees, Angel.” Obi-Wan winces, but he meets Vader’s golden eyes head on before bowing his head. 

It is what it is, a sign of submission. Obi-Wan looks back up at them after a second, blue eyes full of tears. 

“If you come with me willingly Obi-Wan, I’ll let her go right here, right now. She’ll never hear from us again,” Vader says and his voice is dripping with seductive poison, almost enticing Padmé herself. If only he wasn’t choking her, he might have succeeded. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes find Padmé’s and she shakes her head, moves her eyes back and forth. She tries anything to convince him that this isn’t what she wants, that he needs to run far away from the monster who inhabits the man they both love. 

Obi-Wan breaks eye contact for a moment, a look of guilt coming over his features and when he looks back at her, he mouths, _sorry._

“I love you, Padmé, and you were right earlier. I should’ve given you a choice before involving you in all of this and-and I can’t let you get hurt because of a mistake Anakin and I were arrogant enough to make,” he says and then he’s done with her, leaving her with the wound of having been told it was a mistake that they had ever been in love in the first place. 

And the wound that she was going to lose them both here forever. 

“It wasn’t a mistake,” she rasps out fighting against Vader’s hold, “I love you both.” He smiles gratefully before he stands. 

“I’m all yours,” he says to Vader and Padmé is released, Vader allowing her to fall into his waiting arms. The lack of oxygen has made her suggestible and he smiles, all teeth, in her vision before waving a hand and commanding her into a deep sleep. 

Obi-Wan watches Vader lay Padmé out on her couch, bruises already forming on the pale column of her throat and he chokes down the vomit that rises there. 

“Are you ready?” Vader asks, a smile on his face and Obi-Wan is well aware that he is fucked. He knows Ignis is hungry for his love and with Vader free, he’s been banging on the walls of Obi-Wan’s shields with extra vigor.

It won’t be long until the monsters are both free if Obi-Wan is weak. 

So he takes stock of the love Anakin and Padmé have so generously gifted him, and promises the force to hang for as long as he can. 

_“Yes,”_ he whispers, and it feels as though he’s sealed his fate forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well here we go! the au is getting in full swing! let me know what you think of the chapter and as always, thank you so much for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! please let me know what you think in the comments, it means so much to me to hear from you guys!! i hope you enjoyed chapter 1!


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